Contraction center strip



Aug. 18, 1931. R. R. n'oszRTsN 1,819,304

CONTRACTION CENTER STRIP Filed Jan. 2. 1950 7 1 12 11 j .4 zygzzfilmrBoeri 2. oberzi'sam Patented Aug. 18, 1931 ROBERT R. ROBERTSON, OFCHICAGO HEIGHTS, ILLINOIS CONTRACT-ION CENTER STRIP Application filedJanuary 2, 1930. Serial No. 417,959.

This invention relates to an improved contraction center strip orparting'strip for concrete road construction work, and covers a strip orsheet of ribbed or longitudinally corrugated sheet metal embracing upperand lower sections integrally connected by an intermediate section whichis provided with spaced apertures to permit stakes or pins to be engagedtherethrough to hold the strip in place upon a sub-grade, with an openbead or channel formed longitudinally along the lower edge of the stripresting or seatingin the sub-grade, and having a deflectable beadintegrally formed on the upper section of the 5 strip to projectslightly above the top surface of the concrete top section of the roadto permit the top bead to be longitudinally deflected or grooved to alevel below the topsurface of the road, forming'a center groovelongitudi- 0 nally in the road adapted to be eventually filled withpitch, or the like, to mark the longitudinalcenter of the completedroad.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved contractioncenter strip for con- 2 crete roads which embraces a longitudinallyribbed or corrugated apertured metal strip provided with upper and lowersections integrally connected with an intermediate .V-

shaped section, the sides of which are positioned at an angle'with'respect' to the upper and lower sections and are connected to saidupper and lower sections and to one another by slightly enlargedreinforcing beads-or ribs to provide an improved reinforced center 3strip which may be constructed of a comparatively light-weight sheetmetal of reduced weight and cost. I

It is also an object of this invention to provide a concrete roadcontraction center strip of light-Weight longitudinally corrugated sheetmetal provided with reinforcing beads along the lines of bend of'thestrip, with the lower margin of the strip provided with an open roundedfoot bead while the upper longitudinal margin of the strip is providedwith a weakened tube or bead adapted to be longitudinally indented orgrooved afterthe pouring of concrete on opposite sides of the strip toprovide a road center groove adapted a be eventually filled with pitch,or the like,

after the concrete has set.

A further object of the invention is to provide a reinforced sheet metalparting strip for concrete roads with said strip having a weakened'orcollapsible bead formed on the upper margin thereof normally positionedto project above the top level of the road and eventually adapted to be,deflected or 001- ,7 lapsed below the level of the road to afford agroove for the reception of pitch, or the like, to mark the center ofthe'road.

It is furthermore an object of this invention to provide an improvedcontraction center strip adapted to be constructed of lightweight sheetmetal which is corrugated and reinforced by beads or ribs along thelines of bend of the-sheet, said-strip being provided with an open footbead along the lower margin and having a deflectable or collapsible beadformed'along the uppermargin, and

adapted, af.er the concrete has been poured,

to be deflected to afi'ord a center groove in the road for the receptionof pitch, or similar material, to designate the center line of the 7 Iroad.

It is an important object of this invention to provide an improvedconcrete road contraction center strip of longitudinally corrugatedlight-weight sheet metal reinforced along the lines of bend byreinforcing ribs and having an open bead along the bottom margin of thestrip and a deflectable bead along \he top margin, said beads stoppingshort of one end of the strip, which end is slightly tapered to permitthe same to be frictionally and wedgingly engaged in one end of anadjacent center strip to hold the strips interlocked one with the otherwhen placed upon the sub-grade along the center portion of a road underconstruction.

Other and further important objects of this invention will be apparentfrom the disclosures in the specification and the accompany ing drawin Aa The invention" (in a preferred form) is illustrated in the drawingsand hereinafter morefu'lly described.

On the. drawings:

Figure l'is an isometric view of an improved concrete road contractioncenter strip embodying the principles of this invention and havingstakes or pins engaged through apertures thereof to facilitatesupporting of the center strip in position on a road subgrade.

Figure 2- is a fragmentary side elevation of the interfitting ends of apair of contraction center strips embodying the principles of thisinvention and showing the interfitting end-to-end engagement'of thestrips when mounted in position upon a sub-grade.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary transverse section through a concrete roadhaving an improved contraction center strip embedded in the concretewith the deflectable top bead projecting above the top level of theroad.

Figure 4 is a similar fragmentary transverse section through theconcrete road after the top bead has been indented ordeflected toprovide a center groove which, as illustrated, is filled with pitch, orthe like.

As shown on the drawings: I The reference numeral 1 indicates aconcretetroad sub-grade having deposited there on concrete which formsthe body or main portion of the road 2. Secured longitudi-.

\ nally on the road upon the top surface of the tively light-weightsheet metal :stamped or shaped out of longitudinall corsub-grade 1 bymeans of retaining stakes or pins 3 is an improved road contractioncenter or parting strip embodying the principles of this invention andcomprising a comparasection rugated sheet metal into a form to a 0rd aV-cross-sectioned intermediate or middle section 4and integral upper andlower sections 5 and 6 respectively.

I The upper and lower sections 5 and 6 of the strip are disposed insubstantially the same plane and areintegrally connected by means of theV-shaped intermediate section 4. The center strip is constructed oflongitudinally corrugated sheet metal, thereby permitting sheet metal ofreduced weight to be used to reduce the cost of the steel material usedin the construction of the road. The intermediate section 4 of thecenter strip is provided with pairs of apertures or openings 7 throughwhich the stakes or pins 3 are adapted to be projected, with the lowerends of .the stakes driven into the sub-grade 1.

The two corrugated or reinforced walls I forming the V-shapedintermediate section 4 are integrally connected at the apex line by anenlarged middle'reinforcing rib or head 8, Wl11Ch"eXt6I1d.Sthroughout-the full length of the center strip. At the lineof bend orjuncture between the upper strip sectibn 5 and the upper wall of theintermediate section 4 is an upper reinforcing bead or rib 9 which isrounded outwardly ina direction opposite from the rounding of theintermedi ate reinforcing bead 8. Integrally connectin}; the-lower-stripsection 6 with the lower wall of the intermediate section 4 along theline of juncture of said sections is a lower reinforcing-bead or rib 10which is also rounded outwardly in a direction opposite from thecurvature of the intermediate reinforcing head 8.

The reinforcing ribs 8, 9 and 10 are larger than the ordinarycorrugations of the sheet metal and are located directly at the angledportions of the contraction center stri This construction greatlyreinforces the strip and permits a comparatively thin sheet of sheetmetal-to be used in the construction of the centerstrip.

Integrally formed along the lower longitudinal edge or margin of thelower strip section 6 is a rounded base or foot bead 11 provided with anintegral upwardly and outwa rdly curved flange 12. This rounded foothead 11 affordsa groove or pocket for the reception of concrete to holdthe center strip anchored in position on the sub-grade. The

foot head 11. and the flange 12 thereof extend which a portion of thefoot bead 11 has been cut is slightly inclined upwardly to afford awezlging edge 14, affording an arrangement whereby one end of thecontraction center strip may be slidably and frictionally engaged in theadjacent end of another contraction center strip to hold the centerstrips aligned in frictional interlocking engagement upon a roadsub-grade.

Integrally formed on the top margin of the upper center strip section 5is a rounded top centergroove forming bead 15 which extends from one endof the contraction center strip to a point 16 a short distance from the.opposite end of-the strip. From the point 16 to the end of the centerstrip the upper margin of the top strip section 5 is cut or tapered toprovide an inclined wedging edge 17. The end of the contraction centerstrip which has the bead portions cut away and is provided with theinclined wedging edges Hand 17 affords a tail piecef'or end sectionwhich is adapted tobe slidably and frictionally. engaged in one end ofan adjacent contraction center strip with -the lower wedging ede 14engaged in the grooved base or foot ead 11, while the upper wedging edge17 is adapted to be engaged beneath the head 15, so that the twocontraction center strips lockinglyinterfit one another,

as illustrated in Figure 2, permitting the cut-' off ends of the foothead 11 and the top bead 15 of-one strip to 'abut against the ends ofthe bottom and top beads of the.strip with which it inte'rfits.

The top bead 15 formed on each center strip is weakened longitudinallyalong each side inner channel or of the bead by providing the same witha line of spaced cuts or slots 18.

The contraction center strips of the improved type hereinbeforedescribed are adapted to be slidably engagedwith respect to one anotherend-to-end in frictional looking engagement, as shown in Figure 2, andare adapted to be supported in position upon the sub-grade of a roadunder construction. The interfitting center strips are secured in placeby means of the retaining pins or stakes 3 which project through theapertures 7 and are driven into the sub-grade. When the contractioncenter strips are mounted in position upon the sub-grade 1, the base orfoot bead 11 rests upon'the sub-grade or if necessary, may be wedgedinto the sub-grade a slight distance in order to position the top centergroove forming bead 15 sothat the rounded upper portion thereof willproject slightly above the top level of the road when the same iscompleted, as illustrated in Figure 3. After the interfitting alignedcontraction center strips have been staked in positionupon thesub-grade, as described, concrete is deposited upon the sub-grade onopposite sides of the center strip to completely embed the same, butleaving the rounded upper portion of the top beads exposed to project aslight distance above the top level of the road section 2. The concrete.which has been poured is permitted to set to a required degree, afterwhich a deflecting or indenting machine or roller device is engaged withthe top head 15 and is rolled over the same to indent or deflect thesame downwardly within itself, as indicated in Figure 4, to form the thelevel of the top bead and formlng a center fgroove in the road section2, which may be lled with pitch, or other suitable material, 20, asclearly illustrated in Figure 4.

The pitch 20 is usually not poured to fill the center groove until afterthe concrete which forms the main body section 2 of the road has beenallowed to set sufliciently to permit the sections of the road onopposite sides of the center strip to gradually move outwardly away fromthe opposite sides of said strip to form the required split in the road.After the center groove and a splitting of the road have been completed,pitch or other suitable material is adapted to be filled into the groovefrom, time to time to provide the customary dark center line for thecompleted road.

In order to permit the top bead 15 tobe conveniently deflected inwardlyor indented, as illustrated in Figure 4, the weakened side sections ofsaid bead are provided by slotting the sides of the bead or otherwiseforming the same to permit the top of the bead to he readily deflectedor bent inwardly within the lower half of said head? It will, of course,be understood that many groove 19, thereby lowering changes may be madeand numerous details of construction may be varied through a wide rangewithout departing from the principles of this invention, and it Is,therefore, not purposed to limit the patent granted hereon otherwisethan necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A concrete road contraction center strip comprising a corrugated bodystrip, a base bead integrally formed on the lower longitudinal marginthereof, and a weakened top bead integrally formed on the toplongitudinal margin of the body strip and adapted to be deflected afterthe contraction center strip has been embedded in concrete.

2. A concrete road contraction center strip comprising a reinforced bodystrip, an upwardly directed base bead integrally formed on the lowerlongitudinal margin of the body strip, and a top bead integrally formedon the top longitudinal margin of the body strip and adapted to bedeflected after the concrete has been poured to embed the centerstrip,to form a center groove in the road.

3. A contraction center strip comprisin a reinforced corrugated bodysection, an a weakened deflectable head on one of the longitudinalmargins thereof.

4. A concrete road contraction center strip flectable bead formed on theupper longitudinal marginof the body strip and adapted to be deflectedafter the contraction center strip is embedded in concrete to form acenter groove in the concrete.

6. A concrete road contraction center strip comprising a plurality ofsections disposed in angular connected relation and having reinforcingbeads formed at the angular junctions of the sections forming thecontraction center strip, and means on said strip adapted to bedeflected to provide a groove for the formation of a road center line.

7. 'A concrete road contraction center strip comprising a plurality ofcorrugated body sections disposed at angles with respect to one another,reinforcing beads provided at the angular junctions of the bodysections, a base bead opening upwardly and formed on the strip havingrestrip, and a hollow delower longitudinal margin of the body strip,

and a weakened deflectable top bead inte-' grally formed on the toplongitudinal margin of the body stri p 8. The comblnation with acontraction center strip of a bead integrally formed on one of themargins thereof and eventually adapted to be deflected to provide agroove integrally formed along the lower longi-- therein.

9. A concrete road contraction center strip comprising a corrugated bodysection having enlarged reinforcing beads formed therein, an upwardlyopening foot bead integrally formed on one longitudinal margin of thecenter strip and extending from one end of the center strip to within ashort distance of the opposite end of said center strip, and a weakenedbead integrally formed on the other longitudinal margin of the centerstrip and extending from one end of said center stri to within a'shortdistance of the opposite en thereof.

I 10. A concrete road contraction center strip comprising a reinforcedcorrugated body section having apertures therein for the reception ofretaining stakes, a rounded base bead tudinal edge of the body strip andhaving an upwardly directed outwardly curved flange forming a partthereof, and a closed weakened bead integrally formed on the toplongitudinal margin of the body strip and adapted to be deflected afterthe contraction center strip has been embedded in concrete to proyide acenter groove in the concrete.

11. A concrete road. contraction center strip comprising a bentcorrugated body section having enlarged reinforcmg beads along the linesof bend, a rounded open base bead integrally formed on one longitudinalmargin of the body section, a closed weakened bead integrally formed onthe upper longitudinal margin of thebody strip, and a tapered extensionintegrally formed at one end of the body strip adapted to be moved intointerfitting engagement with an adjacent contractioncenter strip to lockthe center strips to-- gether; 12. A concrete road contraction centerstrip comprising a corrugated body section having apertures therein forthe reception of retaining stakes, enlarged reinforcing beads formed inthe body section, an open foot bead integrally formed on onelongltudinal'margin of the body section, a weakened closed beadintegrally formed on the opposite longitudinal margin ofthe bodysection,

strip comprising an upper corrugated secformed on the upper section, andmeans formed on one end of the contraction center strip to permit thesame to interfit an adjacent contraction center strip.

15. A concrete road contraction center strip comprising an aperturedcorrugated body section, a base bead integrally formed thereon andextending from one end of the body section to within a short distance ofthe opposite end thereof, and a weakened deflectable bead integrallyformed on the body section and extending from one end thereof to withina short distance of the opposite end and adapted to be indented afterthe contraction centerstrip has been embeddedin concrete, to provide agroove in the concrete.

16. The combination with a concrete road contraction center strip, ofmeans integrally formed thereon adapted to be deflected after thecontraction center strip has been embedded in concrete to provide agroove in the concrete for the reception of a material formingthe-center line of the road.

17. A concrete road contraction center strip comprising a reinforcedapertured body section, and a bead integrally formed thereon havingslots therein to weaken the bead to permit the same to be deflectedinwardly within itself to form a groove for the formation of a roadcenter line.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name at Chicago, CookCounty,

Illinois.

ROBERT R. ROBERTSON.

and a tapered extension on one end of the body section to facilitatealignment of the body section terstrip. 4

13. A concrete road contraction center with another contraction censtripcomprising abent corrugated body section, enlarged reinforcing beads"formed along thelines of bend of the body section, and a taperedextension on one end of the body section tofacilitate mounting of thesame in alignment with an adjacent contraction center strip. Y

14. A concrete road contraction center

